Many of the stories regarding PC sales data since Microsoft unleashed Windows 8 upon the world have been negative. But amid declining sales there's at least some good news for Redmond's latest operating system. A new report from DisplayBank, a division of market research company IHS, suggests that about 10 percent of all laptops sold have a touchscreen.

The report claims that 46 million laptops shipped during the quarter, and of those, 4.57 million had touchscreens. If the numbers are correct, that means the amount of touch-based devices sold increased by 51.8 percent over a single quarter. Almost every major PC maker offers a touch-based option, so the numbers certainly makes sense.

The most interesting part of this report is that while the price of laptops continue to decrease, many users are willing to play extra for a feature that could be considered unnecessary.

The number of laptops with touchscreens are likely to keep growing, as companies like Asus and Lenovo continue to push models with them as options. In addition, Intel's former CEO has said that he believes the price of touch Windows 8 machines could fall down to $200 for the cheapest models, removing the price barrier for many users still on the fence.

Of course, an increase in touchscreen penetration is a good thing for Microsoft and Windows 8, but it doesn't change the fact that PC sales are declining. That said, if more users decide that touchscreens are how they want to interact with their PCs, at the very least it will help boost Windows 8 adoption.